Chuck Schumer Shuts Down House Republicans, Stands Up For Violence Against Women Act

Whether you can get down with the term “war on women” or not, conversations about the GOP’s female-related issues are not going away. And for good reason: One of the most striking partisan divides in recent months has been along the lines of renewing the Violence Against Women Act, which in years past has been a bipartisan cake walk. Luckily, last week the bill passed in the Senate, but Senator Chuck Schumer had some harsh words for the House Republicans debating the bill’s key additions and drafting an alternative.

“I want to say, to the small group in the House of Representatives moving to stop this bill. Stop it. Pass this bill,” Schumer said, according to the Daily News.

Of course, some House GOP-ers would vote against the reauthorization of VAWA because expands its protection of victims with provisions for battered illegal immigrants, Native American women on reservations, as well as the LGBTQ community. According to Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah), who voted against the bill in the Senate, passing a measure like this would somehow, conversely, “prevent states and localities from efficiently and effectively serving women and other victims of domestic violence.” Which makes total sense. Because a vote against federal protection for victims of domestic abuse isn’t a vote against women, but “a vote against big government and inefficient spending, and a vote in favor of state autonomy and local control.”

Schumer didn’t hesitate to identify the heart of the issue.

“Now you have extreme people who don’t care about the rights of women,” Schumer added. “They want a new bill, but their bill doesn’t even mention the word women.”

Damn, Chuck tells it like it is. Because if it’s not a war on women, it’s profound, debilitating carelessness. The latter may be worse.